“I am honored to be selected to lead this community in making further academic progress and addressing the challenges its students and families face,” said Mr. Gundry.  “I look forward to working with families and members of the communities to inspire and prepare students for their future.”

Prior to joining LACOE in February 2008, Mr. Gundry served in the Houston (Texas) Independent School District. His tenure there included 12 years as an administrator, ultimately serving as an executive principal overseeing 17 campuses in a high school feeder system. He also taught English, Spanish and ESL for middle and high schools in the district and in other locales.

“The search firm presented an outstanding slate of candidates to the Board and after lengthy and careful deliberation, the Board reached a majority decision on the person it felt best embodied most of the characteristics members of this community indicated they wanted in a new superintendent,” said Board Vice President Ed Honowitz.

Today’s selection culminates a four-month process that began in March and included outreach to parents, staff, and community leaders to identify the qualities they wanted to see in the next superintendent. The Board retained the executive search firm Ray & Associates to recruit and select candidates; final candidate interviews began last weekend. The search firm and Board of Education relied heavily on the results of the community input process when reviewing the strengths of the candidates and finalists in the deliberation. 

Mr. Gundry earned a bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University and a master’s degree in school administration from Houston Baptist University.

PUSD operations will be managed by a team of senior level district managers before Mr. Gundry formally begins his tenure.